


Water And Fire Don't Mix

by DeTigerBoy, Wolfgirl99



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Betrayal, Character Death, I have a lot of ideas for this, Multi, Post-Alvarez Teikoku | Alvarez Empire Arc, Tags to be added, Underground Fighting Ring, Unfair fighting methods, Water and Ice Dragon Slayers, Yes it means it's illegal, please trust me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-31 20:47:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12140817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeTigerBoy/pseuds/DeTigerBoy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfgirl99/pseuds/Wolfgirl99
Summary: There is an illegal fighting ring in the capital of Fiore. The kingdom and magic council have both tried to take it down, but to no avail. Too many powerful people enjoy betting on the fights, while the fighters themselves go at it like animals fighting over territory, or a mate. But, even if there weren't any nobles watching them, the fighter's would still find some way to keep the Ring alive because no one will accept them. Everyone views them as monsters, unfit to help anyone in the waking world. And trust me, every one of the fighters has tried and failed to make it there, but to no avail.How should I know?Because I'm the champ of the Uzemaki Fighting Ring.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Now before you raise pitchforks, I am still currently working on The Difference Between Monsters And Demons. With that said, I've been having difficulty trying to find inspiration for that fic, especially since I recently got into Fairy Tail.  
> And on the topic of Fairy Tail, DAMN I LOVE THAT ANIME. I am a hardcore Nalu shipper, but, at the same time, I am also kinda in love with Natsu myself, so don't get mad at me with the relationships in this.
> 
> Anyway, have fun reading this. See ya next time! Wolfie out!

The look in Berserker’s eyes when he managed to rip the top part of my left ear off, taking my piercing with it, shook me to the core. Screaming, I threw him off me, holding the side of my head, the blood oozing through my fingers and running down the side of my face. The crowd was roaring, but all I could focus on was the psychotic look and grin on the bastard’s face. Blood coated his lips as he spat the piece of my ear out of his mouth. I stared at it as he fell back, laughing. I wanted to be sick. _He just bit a piece of my ear off!_ But I couldn’t be. I had to steal my courage and take this guy down. If I can’t beat this joker, how am I supposed to beat Man Killer?

Ever so gently, I encased the bloody mess that was my left ear in a small bubble of water a centimeter thick, and stood up from the ground. I glared at Berserker, who was still rolling on the ground, laughing his ass off, and grabbed him by his ankle with my water whip, startling him.

“What the he- AUGH!” he screamed as I flung him upwards into the air. Releasing him from my first whip, I grabbed him with another around his waist and slammed him abruptly into the ground. Though I enjoyed the groan he released from it, I realized my mistake a little too late. _Ground=Ammo=Advantage over me_. In the blink of an eye, he was already sending shockwaves through the ground, knocking me off my feet. Next thing I knew, I was soaring across the stadium from his knee to my gut. Crumpling into a pile on the ground with a whimper and a groan, I watched as the man in his stupid red boxers approached me. I don’t remember what he said that night, due to the ringing in both my ears. But I remember seeing red.

His back was turned to me as he addressed the crowd, probably talking bad about me, suddenly he was sent flying upwards on my dragon’s roar. While he was still in the air, I got into a crouch, my fist slammed into the ground, and shouted, _“Water Dragon Shark Frenzy!”_

Time slowed as I moved at the same speed as I flew up, delivering blow after blow within one second and returning to my original spot on the ground. I stood up shakily as the now unconscious man dropped to the ground. _Too bad. I wanted to hear him scream._ Everything else, including Uzemaki declaring me the winner, passed in a blur as I started to black out. Next thing I knew, I was at home on my bed, my ear wrapped up. And a note from Nieve on my nightstand.

_“This is why I advise you not to use such a magic draining spell. Even if it is powerful. Stay in bed for a few days. Uzemaki is giving you the weekend off to recover.”_

I had beaten Berserker. I was now the second highest ranking fighter in the Ring. My next challenge, actually beating Dianna Crylic. The Man Killer.

I was 17 at the time.


	2. The Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so we begin

“Is that all you got? I was expecting more from a dragon! Truly pathetic! And you call yourself the Typhoon!” The brute came over and kicked me in the gut, making me roll across the floor.

“Wow! What an upset! Is the Queen of the Ring down for good?” the announcer for the fights continued his stupid commentary as Denzio, The Thunderclap, as he called himself, continued to taunt me.

So annoying.

“I ain’t done yet!” I slammed my fist into the ground as I got up, blood trickling from the corner of my mouth. I smirked as the crowd cheered, yelling at me to give his ass the beating of his life. Fear flashed across the man’s face for just a second before he tipped his head backwards and roared with laughter.

“Well, will you look at at that! You still got some fight left in you! Bring it on!” I leapt at him, my fists covered in boiling water. Connecting my hand with his jaw, I sent him flying.

“This battle has only just begun. By the end of tonight, you’ll know why I remain Queen of the Ring. Water dragon ROAR!” His eyes widened as he was knocked back against the wall by the water spout that shot from my mouth. When my breath attack ended, he fell to the ground.

I walked over to him and pushed his body over with my foot, so that he was facing upwards to the ceiling. I glared down at him, nudging him with my foot. He didn’t respond, making me groan. Great. The fight was over.

I stepped aside as the owner of the ring, Mr. Uzemaki, rushed over, holding a mirror to the punk’s nose, which fogged up.

“Still breathing!”

The room was filled equally with cheers and groans. The groans because the guy didn’t die. Cheers because I won.

Though I was bummed that the fight was over so quickly, it was still a win. I grinned at the crowd, showing off my fangs, as Uzemaki raised my hand, declaring me, the undefeated champion, winner.

I tipped my head back, shooting up my other arm, and roared in victory.

I remain the undisputed Queen of the Underground. Me, Water Dragon Slayer Delta Masters. Me, the Typhoon.

*****

“Delta, hold still!” I rolled my eyes as Nieve applied more of the healing salve to a cut I got in the fight. “You know this will get infected if it goes untreated!” I looked down as Ruby, my red exceed, tugged on my other arm.

“Hey Delta! Did you see the sign we made for you?”

“I smiled at my little friend. “Yeah little buddy, I did. Did you make that all by yourself?”

“Nah. Nymph helped me color it! After all, we’re your biggest fans!”

“Quit moving!” I sighed again. Leave it to Nieve to be the buzzkill. Speaking of buzzkills…

“Hey, where’s Benson?”

“Dunno, wherever he is when he decides to miss your awesome fights!” Ruby states from the table next to me.

Roven walked in and patted the nearest exceed on the head, “Benson is doing his financial stuff with some of the bookmakers. Nice going Delta, it actually looked like he was giving you some trouble too.”

“Yeah yeah, he got a lot stronger since the last time I fought him. Wasn’t too bad though.” I hissed from pain when Nieve applied pressure to my knuckles, which had been skinned from when I punched Denzio in the teeth. I looked up at the rookie. “Hey man, you gonna help me here or what?”

“I’m coming I’m coming.” Roven said, walking over and rolling his eyes, “I don’t know how you managed without me.” He laughed at himself and held his hands in front of him, parallel to each other. “Aight, tell me where.”

I rolled my eyes. “Just do a full body. Getting my hands skinned, bruises all over, a cut on my collar bone, and getting kicked in the gut five different times kinda has me aching all over.”

“Skin deep with a focus on the abdomen, coming right up.” Roven said and moved his hands to being side-by-side, passing them down along my body like he was doing some kind of scan. As his hands passed over me I felt the familiar numbing sensation and was able to relax a little.

“Damn, wish you were here during the seven years it took to get to this position, dude. That shit really works wonders.”

Roven was still relatively new to all this. Only on his fifth month in the ring. Yet during these past months he’s shown to be a great ally, when I’m not laying him on his ass in the Ring.

Roven finished his pass and stepped back, admiring his work in my decreased heart rate and breathing. “Alright, call for me if you need anything, I think I have a match first thing tomorrow and I wanna make sure everything's lined up right.” I nodded as he walked out, closing the door behind him.

I watched him disappear behind the door. I sighed. “That boy still shows weakness. I’m surprised no one has ripped him to shreds just yet.”

“Well, he’s easily more powerful than most of these idiots here. The only reason he’s lost fights to the others is because he refuses to kill.” Nieve smirked. “Heh, just like you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah yeah, the rookie has the same morals as me. The difference? I _always_ win my fights.” I rolled my shoulders as I got up. “Come on. We gotta go find Benson and get home. I need a goddamn nap after that shit that asshole did with his stupid ‘thunder clap.’”

Nieve and the two exceeds got up with me and we left, finding Benson, and heading home.

I’d say this was a pretty successful day.

*****

_Back in Magnolia…_

“What did you just call me, Ice Prick?” Natsu yelled in Gray’s face.

“I called you a dumbass for letting the bandits get away, Flamebrain!” Gray yelled back, igniting yet _another_ fight between the ice-make wizard and the fire dragon slayer.

The other members groaned at their antics while Wendy chuckled. She always admired Natsu.

Just then, the two quarreling teammates were pulled off of each other by, surprisingly, Gajeel of all people.

“Would you two numbskulls knock it off! Your fighting is getting really damn annoying, and it’s pissing me off!”

“Why would you care, Metalhead!?” Natsu yelled at him.

“Because if you had been paying attention, you would have seen that Mira was trying to get your attention!”

“Oh crap!” Natsu ran over to the barkeep. “Sorry Mira!”

“It’s alright, Natsu! Listen, I got another job for you!”

Natsu looked at her, stunned. He had just gotten back from a job earlier that day. “Huh? Already?”

“Yeah! You, Wendy, and Gajeel have all been requested for it!”

Natsu’s eyes widened as he took the flyer from Mira’s hand. Yep, it read his name along with the other first-generation dragon slayers, along with…

“Why are Sting and Rogue being requested as well?” All the transformation mage did was shrug in response.

Natsu sighed. Whatever the job was, (the flyer was being unclear and very vague about what it was), it better be worth the train ride.

And where to was this train ride?

The capital of Fiore. _Crocus._


	3. First Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annoying exceeds, mute roommate, more dragon slayers, biscuits for breakfast, daily run. Sounds like a perfect mor- wait, more dragon slayers!?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long guys. But I'm here.

“ _Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did. Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid. I'm still standing tall after all this time. Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind.”_

My eyes snapped open as my alarm clock went off. _Great, another stupid day._

“ _I_ _’m still standing, yeah yeah yeah. I'm still standing, yeah yeah yeah.”_ I hit the off button on my alarm and got up. Time to start the day.

I got dressed in my regular workout clothes and headed downstairs where Nieve was making breakfast.

“Morning Delta,” my ice dragon friend called to me when I emerged in the kitchen. Biscuits and bacon. _Yum_.

“Morning Nieve! Everything smells good. Hey, did Benson leave already?”

“Just missed him. He’s heading to Uzemaki’s place to find out if you have any fights tonight.”

“Either way, we’re going down there tonight.” I grabbed a couple biscuits and a few pieces of bacon and sat down next to Brio, who was reading the paper. “Hey man. You find anything interesting in that thing?”

Brio looked up and smiled. _*Nothing of interest yet. Except, I think they found that old rival of yours. Dianna Crylic?*_ Brio signed.

“Crylic, huh? So they found the rock that killer has been hiding under for the past five years?” I growled out, taking a bite from a biscuit.

 _*It said she’s coming back to Crocus.*_ I nearly choked on my food.

_“What!?”_

“Nieeeeeeeeeeve!” My thoughts were interrupted when two flying furballs colored green and red flew in from downstairs. “Two people are downstairs, and they tried to convince us to go home with them! We’re not up for adoption!” Nymph, the green exceed, cried out.

I rolled my eyes as Nieve perked up. “Customers this early in the morning? Alright, enjoy breakfast you four!” She rushed down the stairs, throwing off her cooking apron, and tying her whitish-blue hair into a bun.

 _*Why would they try to adopt either of you? Who would actively seek out having a couple of annoying talking cats, anyway?*_ Brio smirked at Nymph as Ruby stole a piece of bacon from my plate.

“I don’t know. Maybe because we’re unique and adorable! Unlike you, keeping us up with your music until 3 a.m.”

_*Your own fault for deciding to stay up. Has nothing to do with me making my music. I even soundproofed my walls, so you have no reason to complain, stupid exceed.*_

“Who’re you calling stupid, you mute little-”

“Alright, ENOUGH!” Both Brio and Nymph froze as Ruby settled down next to me, staring at the others, like some sort of tennis match. “No name calling, and no arguing at the table! I’ve told you both this dozens of times!”

“Sorry Delta…”  
_*Sorry Delta…*_

“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to each other. Now I gotta go. You coming, Ruby?” The said exceed froze from where she was trying to steal Brio’s bacon, and shook her head.

“Nah, not today Delta. _Someone_ has to keep these two from fighting.”

I sighed. “Alright. Well, keep them from killing each other. I’m heading out for my run. See ya guys later.” I put on my headphones connected to my music lacrima and headed out, Brio’s Tokyovania playing.

*****

“Sweet solid ground!” Natsu cried as he and the other dragon slayers got off the train.

“I’m sorry my troia spell wore off, Natsu!” Wendy quickly apologized, again. “It’s lasting shorter and shorter the more I use it on you!”

As Natsu tried to calm down the younger dragon slayer, telling her it was alright, Gajeel rolled his eyes.

“Stop your blubbering and let’s get on with this. I don’t like leaving Shrimp all by her lonesome.”

“You looooooove her!”  
“SHUT IT CAT!”  
“What? You admitted it at least!”  
“But you don’t have to be annoying about it, stupid flying blue furball…”

As Gajeel continued to yell at Happy, a head of stark blonde hair followed by a black haired boy made their way to the group.

“Hey Natsu!” Sting called, running up to the group. “Glad you could make it!”

“Hey man! Long time no see! So, do either of you know why the hell we’re here?”

Rogue looked up, head cocked to the side. “Really? You guys don’t know?”

“Bummer. Well, we were told to come here with you guys to take down some sort of illegal underground fighting ring. How we’re supposed to find it, I dunno,” the white dragon slayer added.

Natsu nodded. “Alright, let’s go find some lead on this fighting ring! I’m all fired up now!”

*****

_“Because you had to be a big shot, didn't you. You had to open up your mouth.”_ I mouthed along as I ran through the streets of Crocus. The people around me seemed to be more excited than usual, which was weird considering nothing was going on that week. Eh, probably the overly excitable citizens being just that. _Overly excited._

 _“You had to be a big shot, didn't you. All your friends were so knocked out. You had to have the last word, last night.”_ I turned the corner. Huh. Peculiar smell coming from this area.

 _“You know what everything's about. You had to have a white hot spotlight. You had to be a big shot last ni-_ Hey!” I fell back, my hood falling off my head. I looked at the person who knocked me down, finding the guy on his ass in front of me. Sizing him up, the first thing that caught my eye was his sakura pink hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs used in this chapter  
> I'm Still Standing by Elton John  
> Tokyovania by SharaX  
> Big Shot by Billy Joel.
> 
> Delta listens to a lot of different things. Her favorites are classic rock, and electronic, which is what Brio makes. Also, mute D.J. mage. I had too much fun coming up with him.


	4. Uzemaki Fighting Ri-holyshit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dragon slayers encounter Delta, and finally reach the Uzemaki Fighting Ring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys. Sorry for the long wait. But life got in the way, as well as writer's block. On the bright side, my longest chapter yet, and I can finally add my friend and editor DeTigerBoy as a co-creator because he finally got his account on here set up. Anyway, enjoy!
> 
> Wolfie out!

Natsu shook his head from where he was on the ground, looking at the familiar-smelling figure that had knocked him over. The first thing he saw was the blue and white shoulder-length hair with a pair of headphones, much like Laxus’ but without the spikes, covering the person’s ears. Then he noticed the pair of blue-green eyes glaring at him.

“Watch where you’re going, you pink haired buffoon!” The person snarled. Getting up, Natsu offered his hand to them, but they promptly knocked the hand away, getting up on their own.

“Hey, that was ru-” Sting started, but was shut up by another glare from the figure, who was dusting themselves off.

“Don’t care. You’re in my way.” Fixing their headphones and hoodie, they jogged past without another glance, leaving the dragon slayers confused (and pissed in Gajeel and Natsu’s case).

“Well that was… interesting,” Wendy spoke quietly, confusion clear on her face. She and the Twin Dragons turned to Natsu, who, much like Gajeel, was glaring at the figure’s retreating back.

“I don’t like her. Not one bit,” Gajeel growled out.

“Her?” Rogue inquired.

Gajeel simply nodded. “The facial structure and voice. Too feminine to be a guy. But anyway, I swear, she had the same glint in her eye that I had when I was still with Phantom all those years ago.”

“Um, did anybody else notice how familiar ‘she’ smelled?” Sting spoke up. “She smelled like…”  
  
“Blood?”  
“Anger?”  
“Ocean?”

 _“Dragons.”_ Natsu crossed his arms, a scowl still firmly on his face. “She smelled of dragons.”

The other slayers looked at him, eyes wide. “You don’t think she could be…”

“Not possible, Rogue. There are only seven.”

“We don’t know that for sure, Sting!”

Natsu sighed. “It doesn’t matter right now anyway. We’ve got a job to do, so let’s do it. Where did that guy say the entrance to the underground ring was again?”

“He didn’t. He said it changes every night so they won’t get caught. The only way to find out is if a fighter directly tells you, or word of mouth from a few certain people, you moron.”

“The hell you just call me, Black Steel?”

“Hey, you guys looking for the Uzemaki Ring?” A man with spiky brown hair asked as he approached them.

Natsu sized the guy up. He had a relatively normal appearance, aside from the black spiraling flame tattoo reaching from his shoulder to the tip of his middle finger on both arms. He had a grin that just spelled out trouble for everyone. “Yeah, why?”  
  
“Because I know where it’s gonna be tonight. I’m willing to reveal it for a couple hundred jewel.”

“Couple hundred jewel!? What the hell, man!? No sale!”

“Guess you won’t be seeing the fights tonight. Shame. The best fighter in the ring is going up against a rookie who has been known to give them trouble from time to time, and it’s always a sight to see how they manage to beat him. Oh well.” The man started to walk away but Wendy stopped him.

“Please sir. We need that information.”

“Well sorry, sweetheart. You aren’t getting it unless I get the money.”

The older slayers all collectively sigh before Rogue fished out his wallet from beneath his cloak. “200 was it? Here. Take the jewel. Now where do we find it?”

The man just grinned before snatching the stack of bills from the shadow dragon’s hand, counting it with his finger, and shoving it in his back pocket. “You know the old train station? The one ruined beyond repair during the Grand Magic Games a few years ago?”  
  
“Yeah?”

“There’s a stairwell in the back of the building which was left standing even after the alleged dragon attack. Go down that stairwell and you’ll be there. Caio!”

The slayers all looked at each other and smiled. Finally! A location! After searching and asking around all of Crocus that morning, they had a location!

“Hey! What’s your name?” Gajeel asked and watched as the guy turned around, continuing to walk though now backwards and smiling like he was plotting something.

“Castion. Benson Castion.” The guy answered and turned back around, continuing on his way.

“Natsuuuuuu!” Happy appeared, landing in front of the group with the other exceeds. “Any luck finding a lead as to where the ring is? Cause we couldn’t find anything!”

“Well how were we supposed to? We didn’t know what we were looking for!” Wendy’s white exceed, Carla, said in a rather annoyed tone.

“No sweat, buddy! We just got a location!” Natsu exclaimed happily to his exceed partner. “Now that that’s done, I say we actually have some fun in this city. Let’s all meet up at the entrance at sundown, alright?”

A collective “aye!” sounded from everyone as they split off.

*****

Sting and Rogue sigh as their exceed friends pull them into a little shop.

“Lector, pal, why do we have to come in here?”

“Because, Sting! I smell fresh fish inside!”

Rogue rolled his eyes. “This is an adoption place. I don’t see fish for sa-” he stopped as he watched both Lector and Frosch approach the desk where a short but pretty woman with ice blue eyes and whitish-blue hair up in a bun was standing behind. She was smiling kindly as a man filled out paperwork and the little girl next to him held a black kitten close to her.

“Thank you for adopting him. This little guy has been desperate for love and attention ever since he was brought in. Take care of him now!”

“I will! Thank you, Miss,” the little girl squealed and ran past Rogue with a man following after handing the papers to the woman.

“Ahem,” the woman jumped as Lector and Frosch got her attention.

“Huh?” She looked down to see the two exceeds, confusion being replaced with humor on her face. “Oh! Hello there! And what are a couple of exceeds like you doing in a shop like this,” she asked in a kind voice.

“We smelled fish and were wondering if we could have some, Miss.” Frosch spoke, smiling sweetly.

“My, what an adorable little thing you are. I didn’t know exceeds had such a powerful sense of smell. My name is Nieve. If you would like,I shall bring some out for you.” The woman stepped out from behind her desk, looking up to finally see the slayers standing by the door awkwardly. “Oh! Hello there! Sorry I didn’t notice you two. Are these your exceed partners?”

“Uh, yeah. Um, how do you know what they are?” Sting looked at her suspiciously.  
  
“Oh, that’s because my friend and I both have exceed partners of our own. I’ll be right back with the fish for you!” She turned around and headed for the back.

Opening the door, suddenly the shop was filled with blasting music.

 _“Life is crashing down it feels like nothing you can see is real and now it’s time to rise again, I will not stop, I can’t pretend.”_ Nieve sighed as the lyrics continue to play.

“Brio! Turn your music down! ...Because I have people out front! ...Oh quit whining like that. All I did was ask you to turn down your music. I didn’t tell you to stop your work.” The music turned down and a few minutes later, she came back with two small packages.

Handing the exceeds the packages she smiled again. “Here you go, little ones. Don’t eat them too quickly!”  
  
Rogue approached the woman, giving her a nervous smile. “Miss, how much do we owe you?”

“Nothing, it’s on the house! Have a nice day, you four!”

Sting practically had to drag his stuttering friend out of there.

“Dude, don’t tell me you like her already.”  
  
“S-she was so sweet and kind to Frosch, and she was beyond pretty…”

“Come on, Casanova. I’m not dealing with your lovestruck ass.”

*****

People were still sneaking into the entrance when the dragon slayers met up. Gajeel had been there all afternoon. He had heard that the fights always started around 4 p.m., and from the way the people talked, two exciting fights have already passed, the third one about to start.

“Took you bunch of idiots long enough to get here. The third match is about to begin, and now we’ll have fight to get some good seats!”

Natsu patted the taller man on the shoulder as he passed him by down the stairs. “Yeah yeah, we gotcha. Thanks for waitin’ for us man.”

The wizards descended into the ring, the roar of the crowds deafening on the group’s ears and causing a significant number of the exceeds to decide they’d rather wait outside (the remainder were told to, “Wait with the others dammit I don’t want you getting snatched down there.”). Finding seats quickly, the five waited patiently for the match to start, overhearing different conversations as the last fifteen minutes went by.

“Did you hear? The Crimson Serpent is out for blood today!”

“She’s always out for blood! What makes today so special?”

“Berserker insulted her apparently, and she promised a painful end to him from what I’ve heard.”

“Hey, did you guys place your bets for Typhoon’s fight yet?”

“Yeah. Not like the outcome is gonna be any different.”

“But the new guy, Reverb, he only lost by technicality his first time, and last time because of his inexperience fighting someone like that! He might actually beat her!”

“Yeah, but you forget, the Typhoon is unbeatable. I’m keeping my money safe.”

“Hey, I think I saw a wizard guild master and nobleman sitting on the south end of the ring. You think they might be looking for fighters to recruit?”

“Nah man. These guys are _monsters._ No one would hire them. Besides, I’m pretty sure they’re just here to see some all out battles like we are!”

The lights finally dimmed, making everyone in the crowd quiet down. Natsu’s attention was drawn to the ring in the center, where two figures were seen entering from the sides. One was a large, muscular guy covered in burns and scars in nothing but blood red boxers. The other, a golden brown-skinned, average heighted woman with black plaited hair. She wore a suggestive outfit that looked like it may have been made from a small chair’s worth of leather and an expensive set of red curtains.

“Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for the third fight of the night! This one will be for the history books! Once again, the mighty Berserker faces off with the Forgotten Desert’s Crimson Serpent! It has been three months, their last fight a total upset with Berserker taking the Serpent’s spot as number two in the ring! Now the Serpent is back, her fangs full of venom!”

“In this corner, the scourge of the north, he never yields, never falters. Give it up for the one and only BERSERKER!” The crowd went wild as the man tipped his head back and let out a mighty roar, raising his fists in the air.

“It is time for the little snake to slither back into the hole she came out of! By the end of this night, your name will be nothing but forgotten memory!” The Berserker bellowed with the cruelest smile gracing his lips.

“And in this corner, hailing from the desert of cursed storms and unrelenting sun, born from the blood of her enemies, the CRIMSON SERPENT!” The woman narrowed her eyes, taking off the veil covering her mouth and letting out an inhuman hiss while showcasing her fangs to the assembled masses. She closed her mouth, her forked tongue flicked out once, and she responded.

“My dear Berssserker, it isss not I that will be forgotten, but you. I’ll make sure the lassst thing you sssee is your own failure. You’ll be wallowing in sssilent agony asss you bleed out onccce  I’m through with you!” She said with a sneer.

A man walked up to the middle of the arena and held his arms up. His shiny black hair was greased back, a dress shirt covering his torso and worn denim jeans on his legs. His eyes glinted with dark amusement as he opened his mouth. “For the title of Number Two in the Uzemaki Ring, and plain old simple revenge, are the fighters ready?”

“I was born ready! Bring it!”  
“Give me your bessst shot.”

“Alright then! Now, FIGHT!” The man vanished and the fighters sprung into action.

Berserker led with his fists, making it across the ring in one leap and crushing the wall behind The Crimson Serpent’s starting position. The Serpent seemed to dissolve into a fluid for a moment and passed under the Berserker before springing back up to her full height. She launched a counter attack at his unprotected back in which her arms seemed to elongate into serpents themselves, mouths open to bite and inject. The Berserker apparently expected this as he did not immediately turn around but instead punched the ground, sending shockwaves through the ground and throwing the Crimson Serpent off balance. The snakes’ trajectory was thrown off and they bounced uselessly off his callused back. The Berserker laughed and landed a solid punch on the Serpent before she regained her balance, throwing her backwards and making her double over in pain.

“For those of you who haven’t seen this monster in action before, that was no ordinary punch!” The announcer rang in again to provide convenient background on the fighters’ abilities. “The Berserker can cause tremors not only in brute force but in damaging vibrations in the bodies of his opponents! You don’t wanna get hit by those fists!”

“Holy fuck,” Gajeel muttered, eyes wide, only to be immediately shushed by some green-haired punk he was sitting next to.

The Crimson Serpent stood back up straight and squared off with the Berserker, clearly at a disadvantage in a head on encounter. The Berserker charged forward again but she twisted and dodged with ease. This onslaught continued as the announcer chimed back in.

“Of course the Crimson Serpent has plenty of tricks up her own sleeve! Those snakes can pack quite a punch, and that’s if you don’t get bitten! I heard her venom can paralyze a horse in under 10 seconds!”

The Serpent tried to strike a few times but the Berserker was relentless and there didn’t seem to be any openings. Whether she found one or not was unclear but the berserker was suddenly off balance and she took full advantage of it, wrapping her arm around his neck twice and throwing him downwards into the dirt.

“Your not bitin’ me that easy!” The Berserker shouted, punching the ground a few times and raising up a cloud of brown dust around him while the Crimson Serpent wobbled backwards away from him. The Serpent appeared to melt again but this time is was more visible and the dragonslayers could see that she has actually transformed into a snakelike form of herself which all of the sudden was very hard to keep track of. She was still there, but it was as if that spot had always looked like that so that if you saw if out of the corner of your eye or only glanced at it you wouldn’t notice her at all. She slithered like this to the wall as the Berserker leaped to his feet and spun around once, looking for a surprise attack. Not finding one, he looked carefully around the ring, the Serpent maintaining her hard-to-see winding and staying behind him as she drew closer. The Berserker peered up at the audience, trying to find the pesky little snake by where they were looking and the Serpent silently shot up to full height behind him, landing a bite on the back of his neck. He grunted in pain and it was clear that he now was unable to move.

“That wasss for the insssult to my honor, boy. Now you are finished!” His eyes widened in horror and her hand once again became a snake which punched clean through him. He coughed once, blood coming out of his mouth now as well as the hole in his abdomen. The Crimson Serpent pulled back out and he fell face first onto the ground, dead.

The audience was completely silent for one second, two seconds, three, then suddenly roared to life, some groaning about the grisly death of one of their favorite fighters, others complaining about the loss of money, but majority shouting and screaming their approval of the battle’s end. The Serpent backed up, her arm having returned to normal but still covered in blood, and grinned up at the crowd, her teeth tinged red.

“There it is folks! I don’t even think Mr. Uzemaki has to check this one! What a fitting way to end a fight! The Crimson Serpent lives up to her namesake, adding yet another name to her ever growing list!” The Announcer said all to cheerily as Uzemaki rushed down to where the fighter was, raising her bloodied fist into the air, declaring her the winner by utter brutality.

Natsu stared down at the body of the now dead fighter, eyes widened in horror.

“What the fuck,” Sting cursed.

“I can’t believe that happened…” Rogue muttered.

“I’ve seen some and did horrible shit in my past, but _that…”_ Gajeel shook his head in disbelief.

Wendy got up, looking pale. “I think I’m gonna be sick…” she stated before turning towards the exit and rushing outside.

“Those _bastards!”_ Natsu growled out in anger. “Don’t they know life is sacred? How can they _allow_ this?”

“Now, everyone, don’t go to far! After the cleanup crew finishes up down there, the next fight will begin! One I’m sure you are all excited for! The Typhoon versus the Ring’s rookie, Reverb!”

*****

Wendy was lost. How, she didn’t know. But somehow she ended up on the lower levels, where she was sure the people passing by were fighters. One in particular looked and _smelled_ familiar. Wendy saw the blue and white hair, the same black hoodie from earlier. The rude woman from earlier was down here, and talking to someone she couldn't see.

“Why the hell would I care? Berserker got the death he wanted. He was impulsive, rash, and didn’t listen when I told him not to antagonize that creepy witch! He had it coming, so I’m not concerned. Now come on. I need you up in the stands to start the chant.”

“Just be careful, Delta. Roven is a tough fighter, and it’s obvious he won’t give up.”

“Yeah yeah. See ya when it’s over, and he’s crying uncle.”

Wendy hid behind the corner as the woman, Delta, passed by on her way to her entrance to the arena.

 _Oh god,_ she thought. _I have to tell Natsu._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original lyrics provided by Orion Posey


	5. "Fighters ready?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fight with Roven. That's gonna be fun...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told entirely from Delta's pov this time. Something I've noticed. Whenever I write a chapter where a big fight happens, those chapters tend to be longer than others. Anyway, enjoy!

Wendy finally found her way back to her friends. How was she gonna explain what she just heard? What she just _saw?_ How was everyone gonna react, how was _Natsu_ gonna react? This is bad, really bad. Wait, why is she feeling this way? That girl, running into her had been coincidence! Not like it had any importance. Yet, she still had a foreboding feeling about her. She had seemed so familiar, almost like…

“Hey Wendy, you feeling better?” Sting was smiling at the young slayer, interrupting her thoughts.

“Oh, um, kinda… Listen guys, I just saw something…”

Natsu looked at her with concern. “What is it, Wendy?”

*****

I shook my head as Berserker fell to the ground, dead. “Idiot. I warned you.”

“Alright! Everyone out of the way! Cleanup crew is here!” I moved out of the way as the mage who was in charge of cleanup, _and riling us all up when we fight_ , shoved his way up to the ring. “Out of the way, Crasher, Boulder.”

Valkr Mei was hired by Uzemaki a long time ago to ensure the fights were real. He was put in charge of the custodians when the fights became vicious without his help, mainly mine, but that’s because everyone wants to take me down.

“Quit shoving, Mei! It’s not like you are more important than any of us!”

“Oh, but I am. My job lets you _keep_ your job,” he retorted with a sneer.

I went back outside, leaving my fellow fighters to bicker with Mei. I needed a break.

*****

“Douchebags and murderers, the lot of them. I mean, I know that stuff isn’t banned, but they can win without it…” I grumbled, tying the tape around my hands and arms as Nieve and Benson stood to the side.

Benson just rolled his eyes. “You’ve said it yourself, Delta. They don’t care what they have to do to get ahead, because they are already considered bad news by the public. And you’re no better. The only thing making you different is the fact that you haven’t killed anyone.”

I glared at him. “You think I don’t know that? For fuck’s sake, man. And I know what you’re gonna say. No, I’m not gonna kill him, or anyone.” He groaned in response. “Hey, I proved I could be the best without killing anyone, and I’m gonna keep my slate clean.”

Nieve tried to reason with him, “Also, Benson, Rovensune has proved to be an ally here for Delta. If she killed him now…” This only resulted in Benson waving her off as he left the room.

“What turned him into a drama queen? He’s been such an ass as of late…” I said, grabbing my bottle of water and draining it.

“I’m sure it’ll pass, Delta. He’s just being stubborn.” Nieve handed me my hoodie and opened the door for me as I put it on. “Anyway, You don’t seem all too shaken up about Berserker.”

“Why would I be?”

“He was one of the only people not actively trying to kill you. And now that the Serpent is back in the number two spot, she’s gonna be vying for yours.”

“One, let her try. Two, just because he didn’t try doesn’t mean he didn’t want to. You literally cannot form alliances or anything like that here without it eventually coming back to bite you in the ass.” I rolled my eyes as Nieve opened her mouth. “Too early to tell with Roven, Nieve. He hasn’t even been here half a year yet.” 

She flipped her frost-colored hair over her shoulder and sighed. “I’m concerned for you Delta. You don’t care about anyone here at all, except maybe the guy you are about to fight. You just shrug it off when they kill each other and continue like nothing happened!”

“Don’t you remember? When I first started, I wanted to empty the contents of my stomach out onto the floor because of what I saw. I _stopped_ caring the moment I had to prevent Dianna’s energy blades from piercing me from behind when I was _nine._ There is a reason she was called the Man Killer. They wanna murder each other in a ring where that isn’t against the rules? Fine by me, but I’m not gonna kill someone just to earn a better title and a bigger paycheck.”

“Also, why the hell would I care? Berserker got the death he wanted. He was impulsive, rash, and didn’t listen when I told him not to antagonize that creepy witch! He had it coming, so I’m not concerned. Now come on. I need you up in the stands to start the chant.” I started walking forward when Nieve grabbed my arm.

“Just be careful, Delta,” Nieve sighed, smiling softly at me. “Roven is a tough fighter, and it’s obvious he won’t give up.”

“Yeah yeah. See ya when it’s over, and he’s crying uncle.” I returned her smile with a grin of my own as she turned to head to the stands.

I took a deep breath as I flipped my hood over my head. Only five minutes to go. And Roven should be arriving in three… two…

“Ready, Hurricane?” Roven said, approaching from behind precisely on schedule.

“And one…” I turned around to face the rookie. “Okay, one, I thought I told you to stop calling me that. And two, what brings you over here this time, Tremors?”

Roven ignored my first statement, probably just to annoy me. “Well, okay, I do have a request.”

“Spit it out.”

Roven seemed almost embarrassed. “Alright, we both know you're gonna win this fight, so can you not draw this one out? It’s not enjoyable to fight something so decisive. Even by this ring’s standards of ‘enjoyable’.”

I sighed and shook my head, “You still don't get it. I told you this before when we first fought. You can't show weakness here, or they will rip you to shreds. Not just the fighters. But the spectators. They are here for a thrilling fight, Roven. It's my job to give them just that.”

I paused, “Look, I'll try to go a tiny bit easier on you, if that's what you want. But don't expect me to make a promise I can't keep.”

Roven sighed audibly (well, everything Roven did was audible) “Well, if that's all I can get, then fine. See you in there, Typhoon.”

I sent him a fanged grin then turned around, facing the ring. “Right back at ya, Reverb.”

*****

I smirked under my hood as I heard the familiar stomp-stomp-clap and chanting of “We Will Rock You” come from all around me as I entered the ring.

“In this corner, he’s still a rookie in the ring but a force to be reckoned with. He’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen or heard! Let’s hear it for REVERB! (everb… everb… everb…)”

The stadium went wild for him as he gave his title an echo in the way only he could. He threw his hands up and addressed the crowd, “Let’s have some fun shall we!?!” His voice filled the room with obvious ease and he was still grinning his stupid troublemaker grin when he turned to face me again.

“And in this corner, she needs no introduction! You know her, you fear her, you love her! Give it up for the five-year reigning champ, the queen of the ring herself, TYPHOON!”

I thought the crowd couldn’t get any louder than with Roven’s response. But, once again, the cheering, roaring, and shouting for me outmatched all the others.

I pulled back my hood, catching sight of Benson, Nieve, Ruby, and Nymph sitting in the first row (which we jokingly dubbed “The Splash Zone”). I then turned to the rest of the crowd with my signature smile and tipped my head back, a gigantic spout of water shooting upwards from my mouth. “Anyone who dares to challenge me will fall, count on it!”

I didn’t enjoy putting on this persona. I hated it. But I did it for the crowd. And the crowd _loved it._

I scanned the sea of faces in the stands as Uzemaki continued with his usual introductions. Something just didn’t feel right tonight.

That’s when I spotted the head of bright pink hair, attached to a face that looked enraged at what he saw. It was that familiar-smelling, pink-haired buffoon from earlier, and his posse.

And all five of them were glaring down at me.

My attention was suddenly drawn back to the fight at hand by Uzemaki. “Are the fighters ready?”

“Ready to rumble!”  
“As all hell!”

“Alright, FIGHT!” Uzemaki disappeared as I swung my water-encased hand at Roven. It connected with his jaw, sending him flying upwards and backwards. He stopped mid air just before hitting the wall and plopped back down to the ground. 

“Ow!” he said, clearly just complaining.

He cupped his hands around the air in front of him and the air started to shimmer a little as if heat was radiating from his lower hand. I had seen this before and knew not to let him finish.

“Water Dragon Serpent’s Tail!” I shouted and two streams of water erupted from around my arms, creating identical whips. I shot one out, wrapped it around Roven’s top hand, and yanked back. As I yanked, Roven shifted his bottom hand forward and the ball of sound he had been condensing escaped upwards, breaking explosively through my whip.

Growling loudly, my other whip wrapped around his ankles and pulled him off his feet.

“Shit!” He shouted, and I threw him against the wall. He once again slowed before hitting but this time there was definite contact. Keeping up the barrage, I kept switching hands, continuously slamming him against any surface. Every time, he slowed down just before collision so I couldn’t get any serious damage from any hit, but it still left him winded.

Suddenly releasing him from my whips in midair, I leaned my head back and shouted “Water Dragon Roar!” sending a torrent of water from my mouth to blast him against the rocky wall.

As soon as I let go, Roven almost seemed to bounce off the air as he hurled upwards out of range of my attack. ‘Stupid airhead’ I thought to myself, he knew I couldn’t shoot him up there without endangering the spectators. “Get your ass back down here and fight like a man, ya coward!”

Roven landed across the ring from me, his hands splayed and tense and a sheepish grin plastered across his face. “Sorry,” he called, “I’m a big fan of bones!”

I snarled and launched myself at him and he threw his hands up at me.

“Sonic Boom!” I heard an amalgamation of my own shouting and the rowdy crowd rushing through my ears as I suddenly felt like I was charging against a heavy wind.

The force stopped as quickly as it began and I launched forward again. Again the force of the surrounding noise was thrown against me.

I launched forward once more, too close now to be pushed back by another wave of sound. Just in time, I saw his right hook coming around from where it had been hidden behind him, his fist shimmering with built up power. My eyes widened and I ducked and allowed myself to fall backwards. My back hit the dirt and my legs pushed up, hitting his arm and breaking off his swing.

Roven took a step back to regain his balance and I caught a glimpse of his face before the next moment of action. His expression was deadly serious. No more awkward request to go easy on him, no more stupid grin for making puns to the crowd. ‘Well, now I’m interested.’ I thought to myself, ‘Seems he’s finally taking what being in this ring means to heart.’

The moment passed in a flash and I had to roll to the side as he blasted the ground where I had been lying. I rolled up onto my feet and lunged at him, leading with my left side. “Water Dragon Talon!” I shouted, and brought my right foot up behind me and down onto the arms he had raised to protect his face.

There was an explosion of water and Roven was sent flying across the ring, tumbling to a stop just before he reached the far wall.

Breathing heavily, I glared at him. He got up on one knee and looked back, cracking his stupid grin again.

He slowly stood up, one foot at a time and returned to his ready stance (I swear he was being dramatic for the audience). He shook his hands once and cracked his neck. Raising his voice to excite the fans he shouted, “Is that all you’ve got Typhoon?! They should rename you the Puddle!”

The crowd loved this and there was much “Oh he’s gonna get it now.” and “DAMN, I can’t believe he actually said that!” from the stands.

I gritted my teeth. “Oh, I’m done playing with you, boy.”

“Fantastic.” he replied with a slight tiredness in his voice, speaking not loudly enough for anyone to hear but carrying his voice to my ears.

He drew his frame backwards and placed his hands together to charge an attack.

Once again, I acted before he could finish. “Water Dragon Murky Depth!” Throwing my arms together, I pushed outwards and towards him with my hands, sending my magic towards him and blinding him. 

He turned his head back and forth a couple times then cocked his head. “This again?” Then he threw his hands forward, wrists together “Sonic BEAM!”

A concentrated beam of sound shot from his hands to my abdomen with surprising accuracy, pushing me back against the wall as I refused to be knocked over.

I coughed, wiping a bit of blood from the corner of my mouth. “Nice hit Tremors. See if you can do it again.”

He ran across the ring, apparently switching up his tactics now that he no longer had the use of his eyes. “Sonic Gauntlets!” He shouted and both his hands shimmered with the layer of condensed sound rippling back and forth across them.

He swung at me but I dodged and counterattacked with a jab to the side. He swung again and I slid back feeling the force of the swing even though it missed. He wasn’t as stupid as Berserker or Thunderclap though and he stopped swinging wildly to take a step back.

I walked quietly to the side and his blank eyes followed me, his sense of hearing compensating for his lack of vision.

He took a step forward to attack again but I took a step back and slammed my wrists together “Water Dragon Whirlpool!” I shouted, a circular wave of water engulfing Roven where he stood.

“Come on Delta! You can beat him!” I heard my little exceed cry out as Roven took a sharp right turn inside the whirlpool and powered through the side of it, catching his breath for a moment and wiping his still useless eyes.

He was disoriented enough that he didn’t notice when I appeared behind him. “Water Dragon Geyser Fist!” He spun around as a massive fist of water formed around my own clenched hand and I smashed into him, sending him a short distance into the wall where he grunted, winded from the impact. I didn’t give him a chance to catch his breath.

I leaped into the air and massive sheets of water erupted from my arms. “Water Dragon Wing Attack!” I shouted and pummeled him continuously. By the time I finished, any part of him that had previously remained dry (through some miracle) was now thoroughly soaked.

He was still standing at the end but probably only because he had been against the wall. One of his legs moved forward and he blinked a few times. He made eye contact with me and I knew his eyesight had returned. “That hurt.” He said, clearly unhappy about the situation.

“It was supposed to hurt, you numbskull!” I was a little impressed, even if I wouldn’t show it. The first time we fought, there’s no way he would have been able to withstand that assault.

“I don’t suppose we can call a cease fire or something?” He said, his eyes making it quite clear that he wasn’t serious.

“As if you idiot.” I said, rolling my eyes. “This doesn’t end until you cry uncle.”

“Eh,” he shrugged, “It was worth a shot.” He had fallen out of stance and his hands were by his sides and slightly behind him. He didn’t look professional at all.

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked. He was always informal in the ring but it usually wasn’t this bad.

“Stalling.” he said, and brought his hands over his head. They were a foot and a half apart but the space between them was rippling dangerously.

“Boom.” he said, grinning, and hurled the ball of sound at me.

I’d seen him use this once or twice before and it had taken out opponents that had only lost to me before that. I dashed to the side and as it reached where I had been standing I heard the telltale shout, “SUPERSONIC BOMB!”

The ball of sound exploded with insane force and I was flung forwards where I somersaulted into a kneeling position and skidded to a halt just before hitting the wall.

Roven drew his hands back for another sonic beam then made a really really _really_ big mistake. He got just a little bit cocky and opened his mouth. “Anything else, Minnow?”

I narrowed my eyes. “That’s it!” Getting into a crouching position, I slammed my fist into the ground. “Water Dragon Shark Frenzy!” Roven froze, eyes wide, as I disappeared and reappeared in my in my exact position. I stood up from my place and he coughed, his pain obvious in in his expression.

He stood perfectly still and his hands dropped to his sides. “Uncle?” he said with a weak smile.

But he wasn’t getting off that easily. Not for that insult.

I moved my hands to my side and started gathering energy in my hands. _“Dragon Slayer Secret Art. Trident Tidal PIERCER!”_ I slammed my hands into the ground, where, upon impact, a gigantic plume of water came rushing out of the ground in a three-pronged surge, slamming through him and knocking him into the wall behind him. His eyes were wide on impact, but he was out cold before he hit the ground.

I stumbled back, my breath shallow as Uzemaki appeared with a mirror against Roven’s nostrils. The mirror fogged up, confirming that he had survived. I was relieved, Roven was a good guy even if he was an annoying ass sometimes.

I grinned and roared along with the crowd as Uzemaki, for the third time this week, raised my hand and declared me the winner.

The medical team carried Roven away and Nieve accompanied me back to my room as Benson left to collect his winnings.

The fights were over for the day and soon the ring would be empty.

That was a tougher fight than I had had in a long time.

*****

I was sitting back in my room, putting my stuff away when someone suddenly burst through the door.

It was that pink-haired boy. Only then, did I recognize him. It was the Dragon King, the Salamander.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?” Natsu Dragneel roared with fury.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Psst, hey Natsu. The reason the girl with blue and white hair is so familiar is because she's a drago- Oh, you know that now? Well, have fun!
> 
> Song featured in the chapter  
> We Will Rock You by Queen


	6. Roven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roven and Delta remember their first fight. Roven's first one in Uzemaki fighting ring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, really late, my bad, sorry about that. The next one shouldn't be quite such a wait.  
> \--DeTigerBoy

I remember when I first met Roven. It was about five months ago. Brand new kid in the ring. He was nervous as all hell when he first stepped foot on the dirt floor, surrounded by all those eyes. And even though he was queued up to fight me that night, I still felt sorry for him. Then again, I always feel sorry for anyone that has to fight me.

I had heard from the idiot Mei about the new guy. His name was Rovensune, and I was surprised at how old he was. Most fighters join as kids (I know, horrible. But the guilds do it too!); but this guy had joined after turning legal age. (“He’s definitely over 18, maybe older than you, you little eel!” Berserker laughed his ass off as if he made a joke. He was on the ground in fetal position, holding his nose for that.) So at least he was semi-prepared for this shithole that was the fighting ring. Or, at least I hoped. He also had no idea who I was, but he had heard from the other fighters how much of a “monster” the Typhoon was.

I decided to do the _nice_ thing and warn him about the fighters here. So I did. Five minutes before I was supposed to enter the fighting arena, I approached him. I kept my hoodie on to obscure my face, so he couldn’t see my features.

“Hey,” I greeted him like I would if we were regular coworkers. He turned around like he was expecting me, and gave me that nervous smile I was all too familiar with by then.

“Hey, are you a fighter here?” he asked. I didn’t answer, not wanting to give myself away, and he only grew more visibly nervous. “I guess it’s okay if you don’t answer.” he continued, “I’m Roven, any advice you can give me before my first fight?” He laughed quietly after that, rubbing the back of his neck. I guessed that was like a little tic he had, like me brushing my fingers through my hair.

When I didn’t answer him again, he got a little agitated and his demeanor shifted. “Look, I don’t know you or this ‘Typhoon’, but the other fighter’s said he was a monster. Did he send you over to psych me out? It won’t work.”

He had stood up straighter and had his hands balled into fists and he was trembling like he was afraid I was gonna attack him. I could certainly smell the fear radiating from him. I just sighed and leaned against the wall. He couldn’t be much older than me. Maybe even younger.

“Why’d you come here?”

His hostility dropped away instantly and he looked at me quizzically, then looked down and away. “I... need money and no guild seems to want me or my magic type. So, I came here.”

‘Boy, can I relate to that.’ I thought to myself. “Alright kid, there are three things you need to know. One, don’t show weakness here, because they _will_ tear you to shreds. Two, as tempting as it will seem, don’t make allies here, because everyone is out for themselves. And three, just, just don’t be surprised with what you see out there. Expect anything once you leave this little area.” I pushed off the wall and started to leave and he called out after me.

“Wait, you’re just leaving? I don’t even know who you are!”

I didn’t stop, but turned around and gave him a grin as I walked. “You will soon enough, kid.”

The look on his face when we met in the ring... when he saw that it was me that he was facing that day… For once I felt guilty to be fighting a newcomer.

He was a tough fighter. Tougher than any newcomer had ever been. His sense of battle was like he had made a point of fighting constantly before he came here; aware of everything happening around him, almost like he could hear my thoughts.

But it couldn’t last, he didn’t know what I was capable of.

I felt even worse when I beat him with what both Benson and Man-Eater called my “cheater spells,” and won by technicality.

Still, it was the start of a surprisingly beneficial connection. Something you don’t often find down here.

*****

Roven was unconscious.

Not surprising given the fact he probably would have passed out even if he hadn’t been hit with Delta’s Secret art.

He hadn’t been unconscious the whole time since then though, he woke up with a start earlier and gritted his teeth through the pain as he collected enough sound to give himself some general anesthetic. Then, the pain slightly dulled, he faded off into a flashback to his first time in the ring. His first fight with Delta.

It had been a hell of a job finding the ring, but he was finally in and it was refreshing to have someone that didn’t turn him away because of his… unusual magic.

The interview was short, Uzemaki appeared with another wizard who told him Roven was powerful enough to fight, then Uzemaki handed him a slip of paper that guided him to the entrance of the week. (The whole experience scared the shit out of Roven since his hearing usually makes it so no one can sneak up on him. Teleportation man, Roven had always hated teleportation.)

Once Roven got into the ring he was told he’d be fighting that day against some guy called the Typhoon. When Roven was told this the guys behind him started laughing and one of them patted him on the back. “Good luck kid, hopefully you survive long enough to regret coming here to fight that monster.”

If the goal of these reactions had been to get under Roven’s skin, they had worked. By five minutes before the fight, he was a nervous wreck waiting in his spot. He hummed a soothing vibration into his body but stopped as he heard a figure approaching.

He turned around just as the figure got to a logical distance to hold a conversation at and saw a hooded person, not too much shorter than he was (then again he wasn’t standing up straight at all). “Hey,” the figure greeted him, revealing by vocal quality that it was a girl under the hood.

“Hey, are you a fighter here?” Roven asked. He was hoping he could get some kind of a bearing on what the other fighter’s were so scared of about this ‘Typhoon’.

She didn’t answer

“I guess that’s okay then,” Roven continued, growing slightly less patient. “My name is Rovensune. Can you give me any advice before my first fight in this ring?” He laughed softly and waited for a response.

Nothing.

A thought crossed Roven’s mind and he got frustrated. He decided to go with it just to prompt some sort of response. “Look here, I don’t know you. I don’t know this ‘Typhoon’ guy, but the other fighter’s called him ‘monster’. Did he send you over? Are you to trying to scare me? To psych me out? It won’t work, this is my first time here, not my first time in a fight.” Roven had stood up to his full height and had his hands balled into fists, collecting energy he hoped was noticeable and sufficiently threatening.

The girl just exhaled and leaned against the wall.  
“Why’d you come here?”

Roven released the sound and gave her a look of curiosity then averted his eyes. “I need money. No guild seems to want my magic type so... I came here.”

“Alright kid,” She responded, surprising as she likely wasn’t far off his age, if not younger. “There are three things you need to know. One, don’t show weakness here, because they _will_ tear you to shreds. Two, as tempting as it will seem, don’t make allies here, because everyone is out for themselves. And three, just, just don’t be surprised with what you see out there. Expect anything once you leave this little area.”

She pushed off the wall and started to leave and Roven called out after her.

“Woah woah woah, you’re just leaving? I don’t even know your name!”

She didn’t stop, but turned around and walked backwards for a moment, “You will soon enough, kid.”

Minutes passed, then it was time to fight. Roven checked his braces and greaves, evened out his signature scarf and shook his arms and legs to release some of the tension. He was realistic about his actual odds of winning his first fight but the fact it was his first was to his benefit as few wizards had magic in the same sect as his.  
He wore a sleeveless shirt and baggy shorts to maximize mobility. It didn’t make for a very intimidating image but he figured that was also to his advantage and he didn’t need that to get crowd approval.

He got the signal from a techy and walked into the ring. The ring was not much a ring really, just a dusty dirty pit in the earth. It was clear the walls had been marked up from previous fights but the floor was perfectly flat and the lighting was impressive. Uzemaki was standing in the center of the ring and speaking with some sort of megaphone magic to get the spectators excited.

Roven looked past him and saw none other than the girl he had talked to before. The statements she had made-as well as her unwillingness to reveal her identity-suddenly all made sense now. Uzemaki boomed a stereotypical introduction to the audience, “Ladies and Gentlemen, it's his first time in the Uzemaki fighting ring, he’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen,” undoubtedly true for at least some onlookers but Roven thought it was likely an exaggeration, “he’s loud, he’s proud, he’s here to take on the queen and make a name for himself, give it up for REVERB!”

The crowd loved this and he heard equal portions of encouraging and discouraging shouts from around. ‘Reverb,’ he thought to himself, ‘interesting choice.’ He had never really figured out what a good ring name for himself would be but he supposed Uzemaki must have someone that gets paid for that and he actually quite liked “Reverb”.

Uzemaki held up his hand and the audience got quiet. Roven could hear the individual whispers of excitement as they chattered quietly about “here it comes” and “ooh she’s gonna crush him.”

“In the other corner, you know her, you fear her, you love her! Give it up for the reigning champ, the queen of the ring herself, TYPHOON!”

Typhoon blasted a fountain of water into the air from her mouth and Roven was honestly impressed with the crowd’s reaction. The sheer amount of noise in the room at that moment left him with a very clear ‘not bad’ expression plastered across his face. He couldn’t help but grab some of the noise to use in the fight, there was so much of it there he didn’t even need to compact, he just held it.

Typhoon turned back to Uzemaki and the man of the moment called out, “Fighter’s ready?”

Typhoon shouted, “Time to teach this newcomer the rules!”

Roven just stuck out a thumbs up. He’d work on his showmanship later.

*****

In retrospect Roven could always see that Delta had taken it easy on him in that first fight (though she was good at hiding it and she never would have admitted it). She could have ended him instantly with any of the moves she’d used on him today.

He did remember the way the fight actually ended though, in a way neither of them expected.

*****

The Typhoon was standing there across the ring from Roven, panting. She had thrown attack after attack but clearly had never faced anyone of Roven’s particular fighting style. Surprise attacks were completely ineffectual as well.

Suddenly, she did an attack he wasn’t expecting, she pushed through the air and shouted “Water Dragon Murky Depth!”

Roven watched the ripples in the air approach him and suddenly he couldn’t see. This didn’t bother him as he tended to rely entirely on his hearing anyway.

They kept fighting and it wasn’t long before Roven rolled to the side, looked up, and realized he could see again.

The Typhoon locked eyes with him and he knew she knew he could see again.

She shifted stance again and he recognized it as the one she had used to blind him. He stood patiently and waited to see what she was planning.  
Big mistake.  
This time, as the Typhoon pushed outwards, she shouted “Water Dragon Siren Song!”

All to curious about the spell, he watched the ripples approach.

And then the world disappeared.  
Roven turned his head, he blinked and a swirl of colors that should have made sense but just wouldn’t solidify assaulted his brain.

Roven tried to make a sound blast. He opened his mouth and yelled. At least he tried to, he couldn’t hear anything.

Not hearing anything for Roven was like a bat trying to fly without echolocation.

He hit himself in the side of the head and felt the pain as he boxed his own ear.

His vision was filled suddenly with more shades of blue and white and all at once cold and wet was everywhere. Had his brain been able to function he would have understood that was a water attack from his foe but as it was, he just felt the pain of hitting the ground.

He didn’t even know he had been falling.  
He couldn’t tell which way was up.

The colors faded from his view and he stopped feeling anything at all.

*****

I watched as the rookie flailed around after deafening him. I knew losing your sight and hearing so suddenly was disorienting, but I never expected him to react the way he did. Dodging the attacks he was throwing every which way, listening to him shout and curse, watching the shear panic fill his eyes when he couldn’t hear anything.

Normally I found it amusing to watch my opponent thrash around in a panic after either losing their sight or hearing from my attacks. _That’s how it feels completely submerged deep in the ocean. Hope you enjoy it, prick._

Not this time.

I ever so slightly cringed when Rovensune, sorry, _Reverb_ hit himself in the side of the head, a brief memory of getting hit on the same side of my head before Berserker bit my left ear and ripped it resurfacing. I even briefly considered reversing the spell because that is just not right.

However, glancing slightly to my left, I saw Benson narrow his eyes at me and gesture to my screaming opponent with a small nod of his head. At the same time, I began to feel anger that was not my own fill my head. (In retrospect, of course, I knew it was that idiot Mei.)  _Empathy. Empathy doesn’t belong down here. He wouldn’t show it to me, so I shouldn’t show it to him..._

Gritting my teeth, I slammed my hands together, announcing my whirlpool attack to the entire stadium as Reverb stumbled around. He was swept away by my attack, landing on his back with a painful sounding thud. He didn’t get up after that.

With the foreign anger still flowing through my head, I stomped across the dirt floor, ignoring the crowd cheering and the announcer, right up to Reverb’s body, only to be shocked to find him still awake, eyes wide but unfocused. Suddenly, the anger washed away, like words written in the sand of a beach, replaced with a cold feeling I was not used too. I could hear his heart beating faster than any normal human being, yet he was still unresponsive.

He was in the middle of a panic attack.

I didn’t get a chance to react as Uzemaki, not even caring that the boy was still awake and panicking, checked to ensure he was alive and raised my hand, declaring me the victor.

Despite Benson's inevitable disapproval, I glanced back as I left the ring and saw the boy’s eyes slowly closing.

*****

“SHIT” Roven shouted, shaking the room around him as he sat straight up on his cot.  
Realizing it was a dream he stuck out his hands and the majority of his shout stopped reverberating and dispelled into smaller waves.

Roven still ached from his recent fight with Delta but his taunting had probably earned him some extra cash. The crowd loved taunting.  
He did a frequency once over to decrease the pain and got up slowly.

Roven rubbed his temples and opened his door, listening to the echoes of the conversations around the ring.

One nice thing about living underground, Roven could hear what had been said almost a full minute after he had woken up if it was loud enough.  
Given the content of one particular shout, he had a pretty good guess where to find the source.

Roven snapped his fingers a couple times (the audio equivalent of splashing some water in his face) and headed to Delta’s room.


	7. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The confrontation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!

_ “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?” Natsu Dragneel roared with fury. _

I just stared in shock at the dragon slayer in front of me. Surely a mind trick from my exhaustion from using two of my most powerful attacks in rapid fire. Shaking my head, I continued squinting at the ensemble of slayers in front of me. Nope. They’re real. What the hell are they doing in Crocus, and  _ why are they in the Uzemaki Ring? _

I  _ must have _ been looking at them wrong, because the next thing I knew, I was being dangled in the air by the tall, black-maned, scarred, angry-looking, pierced man, the front of my tank top balled up in his fist.

“Salamander asked you a question. I suggest you answer it before we get impatient,” the man growled out, his red eyes narrow. He pulled me forward, my face mere inches from his, his metallic-scented breath burning my nostrils.

That pulled me out of my stupor real quick. “You know, you don’t have to be so aggressive. I get it, fans want autographs. I’m sure there’s some paper and a pen somewhere around here. Set me down, and I can write those up for you real quick,” I smirked, putting on my Ring persona. Always my go-to in situations like these.

Just like Benson always suggested.

That was apparently a bad idea because suddenly I was thrown backwards by the man with an angry snarl, hitting the door with a thud. If I wasn’t fully awake before, I was now, and I was livid.

“Look buddy,” I narrowed my eyes at the group as I got up (a little shakily, I admit), “I don’t know what the hell your problem is, but here, unless you’re a  _ fighter,  _ you can’t touch me. As for what’s wrong with me, nothing but anger issues and a need to win. As for the others, outright  _ murderers  _ are what they are. I may use unfair spells to get the upperhand in fights, but, unlike me, they aren’t above killing their opponent. Just look at that creepy serpentine witch and what she did to Berserker.” I growled out, my voice getting louder with each sentence.

“But life is sacred!” the short, blue-haired girl piped up.

“Oh, I’m sure you believe that when you get hired to slay monsters. Or does it only apply to humans? Plenty of humans  _ act _ like monsters, so by your definition, they should be slain too. Besides, it’s not me. It’s them. Take it up with them, or better yet, Mr. Uzemaki and his stupid pet Mei. Now get out of my locker room.” I scoffed and turned my back to them, continuing to pack my stuff up for the night.

Or rather I turned away from them only to be roughly grabbed by my shoulder and spun back around, this time by Dragneel. His dark eyes were narrowed dangerously, his fangs on full display.

"Sting, Rogue, go outside and keep watch. I need to have a little  _ chat _ with Ms. Typhoon.”

_ “Delta,” _ I snarled out. “My name is Delta _. _ And trying to intimidate me ain’t gonna do shit for you.”

The two slayers Dragneel named nodded at him and left the room. I watched them go, their eyes glaring at me. (Not even a minute later, I heard what sounded like them trying to start a shouting match start with Roven outside.) My attention returned to Dragneel and the other two slayers, mainly the big bulky one as he stepped forward.  _ Wait a moment, dragon slayers, Sting and Rogue, Dragneel himself… _

“Wow, I’m an idiot!” I exclaimed suddenly, starting to laugh and making the slayers in front of me look at me like I was crazy. “Of course you brought Black Steel and the Sky Maiden with you! All that's missing is Dreyar and the Poison Dragon Slayer, huh? What were your plans? To convince me a  _ life of crime _ wasn’t befitting of a dragon slayer such as myself?”

The three of them looked at me incredulously. “Uh, no?” The little girl, Wendy Marvell, spoke up, this time, with a hint of agitation. “We were hired to locate the illegal fighting ring of Crocus, and take it down if possible. And now we know why!” Her cheeks were puffed out, like she was trying to appear mad.

*****

“What is taking them so long?” Carla tapped her foot impatiently as the other exceeds goofed off around her. Happy was trying to offer her a fish, again, Lector was bragging about Sting accompanied by Frosch, ugh, agreeing with him and saying that Rogue was awesome too, and Pantherlily was just sitting there, meditating. It was almost like none of the others cared enough that their partners were gone longer than they said they would be.

Carla cared. Carla didn’t like this. Maybe Natsu was constantly tardy or forgot, same with Gajeel. Sting and Rogue, well, she still didn’t really know how they worked with a schedule, but they probably weren’t as bad as Natsu. But Wendy? She always strived to be on time! She was occasionally late, yes, but when it came to Carla, she was always on time! Carla’s tail twitched agitatedly.

Something about this mission was wrong. All wrong. She could feel it in her bones. What kind of person tries to bring a fighting ring down when even the Police didn’t want to bring it down? What could a few dragon slayers and… whatever Natsu qualified as now, do to take this place down? She heard from the slayers just what happened in there. They were pure, rabid,  _ animals _ . Sure, she was all for stopping this, but people this corrupt, who run this kind of place, who bet on murderers like this was some  _ game of cards, _ they wouldn’t let a rag tag group of guild wizards bring it down!

What’s worse was that all her visions kept showing her were things she couldn’t understand: a girl with white and blue hair surrounded by mean looking people, a man with spiral tattoos on his arms grinning while he held Wendy aloft by the neck, a vague image of fire at war with water. She couldn’t see anything else beyond that…

“You’re holding your head like you have a migraine again, Carla,” Lily spoke up suddenly, startling the white exceed. The black exceed’s left eye was open and looking straight at her.

“Just trying to make sense of all this,” Carla sighed.

When Pantherlily didn’t respond, Carla looked up, only to see the exceed in his battle form, sword drawn, facing off against a man with spiky brown hair and spiral flame tattoos on his arms. The mystery man was smiling.

“Hello little kitty cats. I’ve come to escort you to your masters.”

At this, the others took notice of the newcomer and Happy was the first one to speak up.

“Why the heck would we follow a weirdo like you?”

The smile disappeared from the man’s face.

“Because you don’t have a choice.”

*****

“Oh? What reason is that, kid?” I sneered at her. This was starting to really piss me off. Also, where was Nieve and Ruby?

“This place, everyone here, you are all sick  _ murderers,” _ Marvell shouted at me. "Why the hell are you laughing?” I started laughing again. Hard, gut-busting laughter.

“You think,  _ -wheeze-  _ you think that just because,  _ -pffthahaha- _ almost every fighter here,  _ -snort-  _ kills to win, you can,  _ -oh this is rich!- _ make Uzemaki shut this place down for good?” I laughed for another few moments before I was able to finish, “ _ Good fucking luck!” _

The three of them just looked at me bewildered until I eventually calmed down enough to talk again. “Look guys, the only way to get him to shut this damn place down is to beat him, which even Man-Eater couldn’t do, or give him something else.”

“What would get him to close this place?”

“Compensation, and a show that would suck everyone’s pockets dry. Like a rematch between me and Man-Eater, but that’s not happening anytime soon.”

_ “Compensation?” _

“A slap on the wrist and enough money to make him live like a king.”

_ “OH HELL N-” _

Whatever Gajeel was about to say was interrupted by the uncharacteristically silent Dragneel, “What about a fight between you, the top fighter, and me, the Salamander?”

My eyes widened at the thought as Black Steel shouted at the famous slayer. Oh, Uzemaki will be pleased to hear of this matchup.

Not just Uzemaki though,

_ Just wait until Benson hears about this. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> College is a bitch. Also, Delta has heterochromia. Right Blue Eye and Left Green Eye

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and suggestions encouraged!


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